Nearly two decades have passed, yet we are still consistently encouraging citizens to be empowered by using information and communication technology. We believe that information is one of the main assets of citizens to make the right decisions for their well-being. Thus, community based information management is the foundation.

In 2019, there are three domains we are working on to strengthen this foundation: community media, village information systems, and digital literacy.

Community media is an issue that we have been dealing with for a long time, even from the beginning of this institution. In addition to strengthening the capacity for community media activists and citizen journalists, these last three years we have begun to encourage state recognition of community media as well as legal protection for their citizen journalists. We believe that even in the slightest quantity, there is still community media that really contributes to literacy and information democracy for grassroots. They really need recognition and protection, instead of being accused as one of the media that spread hoaxes.

Meanwhile, the development of the village information system application that we have initiated since 2009 has also continued to show progress. After successfully finalizing the basic concepts related to data and information governance, we began to study intellectual property rights in order to ensure citizens and the government will be benefited while minimizing the project approach for the momentary interests of certain parties. In 2018, the application that we developed had the official brand “Sistem Informasi Berdaya (SID Berdaya)”, and finally last year the application at the local level was also officially registered as “Sistem Informasi Kabupaten (SIKAB)”.

In the context of data management, we encourage the integration of data from villages with a central data system. We believe that the tagline “One Data from Village” can produce accurate and participatory data. Therefore, the sovereignty of the data remains in citizens’ hand and in line with the data governance principles set by the central government.

In 2019, the data integration model took a start. Gunungkidul Regency Government proactively proposed integration between existing data in SIKAB and two data systems in the central government, namely the Social Welfare Information System – Next Generation (SIKS-NG) and the Healthy Indonesia Program with the Family Approach (PIS-PK). We hope that “One Data from Village” can be a reference for data aggregation and integration in Indonesia for the achievement of one true data.

Another area we have taken seriously in the last two years is digital literacy. The focus on data governance and community media so far have led us to believe in the importance of digital literacy issues. We chose to strengthen the citizens group related to digital literacy issue, especially in regard to security, privacy and personal data on the internet.[]

“Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together,” said the famous painter Vincent van Gogh. This means that great thing consists of smaller things that are brought together. Vincent van Gogh’s remark might refers to the art of pointillism in which a picture is made of many small dots. However, would this short remark be able to answer the question “What CRI has accomplished this year?”

Only few people understand the CRI took when this organization changed few concepts or talking about unpopular issues. Changing the concept of Village Information System (VIS) was the process of staying true to our principal and process in realizing our program. However, this process does not come without challenge. Many parties with different interests seem to be threatened with CRI. As the result, those parties resort to “unfair play” to deal with our organization. This was apparent when we started the campaign on digital data security by questioning the transparency of sim card registration business.

Therefore, in order to realize our vision, we are committed to be consistent with those principle as the bigger picture while doing many simple and small things. For example, 2018 was the year when we organized our biannual agenda called Jagongan Media Rakyat (JMR). However, 2018’s JMR was different that the previous ones as our organization began to switch the focus from the quantity of the participant to the quality of the event.

We picked a theme which was new and unfamiliar outside the realm of media and technology which used to dominate the discussion in JMR. We also invited farmers from the coastal area, coffee farmer, and traditional snack vendors to provide food and beverages in Kampung Pangan. The point of Kampung Pangan is to move the concept of classroom discussion into an open area. That way, the participant of the discussion could mingle with the visitors who happened to listen to the discussion as well.

The theme of JMR usually resonated only with those who shared the same concern with our organization. Kampung Pangan, however, was meant to resonate with everyone in general. In the same time, Kampung Pangan was also created to test the principle of collaboration believed by the activists in JMR. They were tested to collaborate with other communities outside the circle of JMR activists so that they could work together and create more impactful movement. This innovation was not easily acceptable since most of the JMR’s regular participants had been used to conventional discussion space which was exclusive for the participants themselves. Nonetheless, in order to achieve the principle of collaboration, we did our best to realize this principle.

Jagongan Media Rakyat was not our only accomplishment this year. We also had digital literacy training for women who resides in the vicinity of our office. We believe that digital literacy is the key in facing the issues caused by the internet such as the misuse of social media by children and the article 27 paragraph 3 of Electronic Transaction Information Act that might be used to threaten the freedom of speech. By improving the women’s digital literacy, our organization has begun narrowing the gap in digital literacy. Unfortunately, the road ahead is long and exhausting yet we will always be consistent with the principle we believe.

Data integration and security, digital literacy, and information management for the public are the issues we talk about for years to come. All of those issues will be discussed in many small activities that serve as the small dots. However, as Van Gogh have said, these small dots will keep emerging to form a bigger and meaningful picture. However, our works and contribution might be known years after our demise, just like Van Gogh’s works. Nonetheless, we will be very proud of ourselves if our works are of great use for the society. Such is the way we want ourselves to be written in history.

“Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together,” demikian kata pelukis tersohor Vincent van Gogh. Terjemahan singkatnya kurang lebih adalah hal besar terwujud dari serangkaian hal kecil yang disatukan. Memang bisa saja ucapan itu muncul merujuk pada teknis melukis pointilism yang menyatukan titik-titik warna menjadi sebuah gambar. Tapi ungkapan singkat itu mampu mewakili jawaban atas pertanyaan, “Apa yang coba dilakukan CRI tahun ini?”

Tidak banyak yang memahami langkah CRI saat mulai mengubah beberapa konsep, maupun saat mengangkat wacana yang tidak populer. Mengubah konsep Sistem Indormasi Desa (SID) misalnya, menjadi lebih berpegang pada prinsip dan proses, membuat banyak pihak merasa terancam kepentingan sesaatnya dan memilih untuk meninggalkan fair play baik secara etika maupun hukum. Demikian juga saat mulai membantu menggaungkan wacana keamanan data pribadi secara digital, antara lain dengan mempertanyakan kejelasan proses bisnis registrasi simcard, tidak banyak yang sejalan.

Kami berkomitmen untuk konsisten pada sesuatu yang lebih besar yaitu prinsip, visi yang ingin dicapai saat melakukan beragam hal-hal yang mungkin dinilai sederhana dan kecil. Tahun 2018 adalah waktunya kami kembali menggelar agenda dwitahunan, Jagongan Media Rakyat. Pada JMR kelima ini kami juga mulai mengubah konsep. Tidak lagi mengejar jumlah diskusi dan pengunjung yang fantastis. Kami memilih membawa tema baru di luar media dan teknologi seperti yang biasanya mendominasi JMR. Salah satunya mengajak petani pesisir, petani kopi hingga pembuat jajan pasar untuk mengisi Kampung Pangan. Konsep kampung ini membuat diskusi tidak lagi dilakukan di kelas, melainkan secara terbuka berbaur dengan keriuhan seliweran pengunjung.

Kami mencoba membuat tema diskusi tidak lagi bagi mereka yang sudah familiar, melainkan bisa menyusup di telinga dan kesadaran orang yang belum mengakrabinya. Prinsip kolaborasi diuji di sini, apakah para pegiat di JMR hanya bisa berkolaborasi dengan yang sudah kenal, atau malah bisa membuka diri lintas tema dan komunitas untuk membuat gerakan makin riil dan berdampak. Tentu bukan hal yang mudah mengingat tidak sedikit yang selama ini merasa butuh “situasi khusus”, mulai dari tempat pameran hingga ruang diskusi yang fokus pada dirinya. Namun inilah prinsip JMR yang kami ingin dijadikan pegangan oleh semua pihak yang selama ini menjadi bagian, atau akan menjadi bagiannya.

Kami juga tidak hanya berhenti di JMR. Salah satu agenda JMR yang kami lanjutkan adalah literasi digital untuk perempuan. Kami memulainya dengan hal kecil yang bisa dilakukan, yaitu bersama kalangan ibu di sekitar kantor. Kami sangat yakin literasi digital adalah kunci menghadapi belitan masalah yang terkait penggunaan internet, mulai penyalahgunaan media sosial oleh anak hingga makin mudahnya pasal 27 ayat 3 UU ITE digunakan untuk menyerang kebebasan berpendapat seseorang. Dan melalui belajar bersama kalangan ibu, kesenjangan digital dapat mulai dikikis. Mungkin akan panjang dan melelahkan, namun kami telah meletakkan komitmen itu.

Integrasi data, keamanan data, literasi digital dan pengelolaan informasi warga tetap menjadi isu yang kami usung hingga beberapa tahun ke depan. Keempatnya akan hadir dalam bentuk kegiatan-kegiatan kecil. Kegiatan-kegiatan inilah yang menjadi titik titik warna yang akan dirangkai menjadi satu gambar yang lebih besar dan bermakna. Meski tentu tidak berharap, namun bisa saja nasib kami seperti van Gogh yang baru terkenal setelah meninggal. Kalaupun itu yang terjadi kami tetap bangga, sebab bagi kami popularitas instan yang berbasis kepentingan sesaat tidaklah penting dibandingkan manfaat dan makna bagi warga. Begitulah kami ingin dikenal dan dikenang.

Disinformasi saat ini menjadi musuh bersama seluruh negara bangsa. Sekitar dua tahun lalu di Filipina misalnya, saat citra Presiden Rodrigo Duterte sangat buruk terutama terkait hak asasi manusia maka banjir informasi palsu tentang kebaikan Duterte meruyak. Termasuk di dalam informasi palsu tersebut adalah informasi bahwa Bill Gates saking terkesannya dengan Duterte akan berinvestasi US$ 20 miliar di Filipina. Kemudian muncul skandal Cambridge Analytica di belakang terpilihnya Donald Trump jadi Presiden Amerika Serikat. Skandal yang kemudian menjadi bola salju diskursus pelanggaran data pribadi melalui media sosial. Belum lagi di belahan Afrika dimana mudah sekali media resmi memantulkan informasi yang sumbernya tidak jelas.

Beragam upaya telah dilakukan di sana sini, mulai dari membuat segepok regulasi hingga memperbesar arus gerakan literasi. Namun krisis ini multidimensi, dan sayangnya semua harus diselesaikan secara simultan agar dampaknya optimal. Warga sudah berada dalam tingkat kerentanan tinggi terhadap gelombang informasi palsu yang memang sengaja disebarkan untuk memanipulasi publik. Teknologi informasi telanjur menelurkan banyak cara baru berkomunikasi, yang terdepan tentu media sosial.

Disinformasi sesungguhnya bisa dimulai di mana saja, kapan saja, oleh siapa saja. Komunikasi digital lantas membuatnya menjadi makin tak terbendung. Bagi kami, yang bertulang punggung gerakan pengembangan dan pemanfaatan teknologi informasi, titik pijak analisis masalahnya adalah faktor manusia. Titik pijak analisis masalah yang kami yakini bukan lagi sekedar fokus pada hal teknis seperti pengembangan aplikasi dan fitur baru penangkal informasi palsu misalnya.

Merujuk pengalaman kami, disinformasi tidak hanya terkait politik praktis dari desa hingga negara. Disinformasi bisa sengaja diproduksi dan disebarkan dengan motivasi uang, klaim keberhasilan individu, klaim pencapaian target proyek, hingga penghancuran citra pihak lain. Pelaku maupun korbannya tidak terbatas politisi melainkan bisa individu, kelompok warga, organisasi lokal hingga organisasi internasional.

Sistem Informasi Desa dapat menjadi contoh bahan disinformasi yang digulirkan beberapa pihak untuk kepentingan tersebut. Media sosial masih menjadi alat efektif untuk menyebarkannya. Riset Buzzfeed menyebutkan saat pilpres di AS 2016, 20 informasi palsu di Facebook yang paling mendapat respon ternyata disebarkan lebih banyak dibandingkan 20 informasi akurat yang paling mendapat respon. Demikian juga dengan disinformasi yang terjadi pada SID, begitu mudah mendapatkan respon entah berupa ikon jempol hingga share tanpa ada upaya verifikasi informasi secara detil. Akibatnya adalah cara pandang pemerintah desa hingga pusat didominasi aspek seberapa cepat aplikasi bisa direplikasi, bukan pada prinsip penerapannya yang membutuhkan perubahan kultur berupa semangat antikorupsi misalnya.

Namun di sisi lain, reaksi para pengambil keputusan publik terhadap fenomena ini juga tidak semuanya lepas dari kritik. Salah satunya saat Dewan Pers menegaskan selain media berbadan hukum yang terdaftar di Dewan Pers maka media tersebut tidak di kuadran yang sama dengan media resmi. Sungguh ini kerugian besar terutama bagi para jurnalis dan media warga yang berupaya keras membuat informasi di tengah warga sekitarnya dengan menerapkan prinsip jurnalistik. Bandingkan dengan media yang disebut resmi namun proses penyajian beritanya tidak dilambari semangat kepentingan publik.

Sementara itu, dalam transaksi informasi ada perbedaan mendasar antara prinsip keterbukaan data (open data) dan keterbukaan informasi publik. Prinsip open data membuka data seluas-luasnya kepada publik sedangkan keterbukaan informasi publik melakukan pemilahan data untuk melindungi data sesuai peruntukan publik. Sering kali karena ketidaktahuan dan kelalain maka perlindungan data dan informasi terabaikan.

Kami menyikapi isu disinformasi dan perlindungan data pribadi secara serius. Kami memulainya dengan mengintegrasikan prinsip yang kami yakini tentang dua hal tersebut dalam program kerja kami, termasuk SID dan media komunitas. Kampanye kami lakukan melalui serangkaian diskusi dan publikasi. Saat Kementerian Kominfo RI mengeluarkan regulasi tentang registrasi kartu SIM misalnya, kami dinilai melawan arus karena pagi-pagi sudah menyoal jaminan perlindungan data pribadi pelanggan. Belakangan terbukti aturan tersebut toh direvisi dan isu perlindungan data warga kembali menguap. Sementara UU Perlindungan Data Pribadi tak juga dibahas di parlemen.

Tahun ini juga lisensi SID Berdaya mulai kami bahas. Bukan berarti kami sok bergaya perusahaan aplikasi karena jelas bukan motivasi ekonomi yang melatarbelakangi tindakan kami melainkan itikad untuk menjaga prinsip dan proses di balik aplikasi. Ini sekedar upaya kecil yang kami mampu untuk menyumbang perlindungan bagi desa dari gempuran disinformasi oleh pihak-pihak  yang sering meninggalkan desa bukan karena desa sudah mampu mengelola potensinya sesuai prinsip tata kelola yang baik, melainkan karena tak ada lagi madu yang bisa dihisap.

Nowadays, disinformation has become the common enemy for everyone from any nation. Two years ago, for example, when President Rodrigo Duterte’s image was becoming worse for his human right violation, fake information regarding his action began to captivate the internet. One of the fake news is the rumor of Bill Gates investing20 million USD to Duterte because Bill Gates was impressed with Duterte’s action. Another case is the Cambridge Analytica scandal behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that would later snowballed into a discourse of data privacy violation on social media. On the other, people in Africa have the tendency to easily spread any unreliable information on the internet.

Many efforts have been taken to block the waves of disinformation by issuing a lot of regulations and strengthening the literacy. However, the multi-dimentional crisis remains unstoppable and it needs to be contained simultaneously. The people in general are very vulnerable to fake information that is deliberately circulated to manipulate the public. It is caused by the advancement of technology that breeds many new kinds of communication including the social media.

Basically, disinformation can be started by anyone, anywhere, anytime and digital communication only makes it worse. For us, whose backbone is the technological advancement and utilization, the right analytical perspective for the issue is the human factor. In other words, it is more than just some technical matters such as the development of a feature or applications but the human who utilize the technology.

Our experience shows that disinformation is not only related with the practical politics in the level of village and country. It is also related with money motivation, individual claim for success, project claim, and the disfiguration of others people’s image. The perpetrator and victim might also be more than just an individual but also some groups of people, local institution, and international organization.

Village Information System (SID) is an example released by some parties to contain disinformation. Social media still becomes an effective tool to spread hoax. A research conducted by Buzzfeed shows that during the 2016 presidential election in United States, 20 fake information managed to gain more attention than the other 20 more accurate and reliable news. The same phenomenon also occurred in our surounding. Everyone can easily react to fake news simply by hitting the like button or even sharing it without checking the information beforehand. In SID’s case, it also affects the way the village government’s perspective in circulating information. The village government tends to focus on how the speed to replicate an application rather than its basic implementation principle that needs to be adjusted to a certain cultural trend such as the spirit of anti-corruption.

Meanwhile, the reaction made by the decision maker regarding this phenomenon can still be criticized. One of the critics was when the Press Council emphasized that the disinformation is circulated by unofficial media that is unregistered under the law. If the unofficial media remain unchecked, the effort to block disinformation made by the journalist and anyone who apply the principle of journalism will be in vain.
Similar to other information transactions, there are basic differences between the principle of openness (open data) and public information. The open data principle means opening the data as widely as possible while public information sorts out the data to be protected before releasing it to the public. Unfortunately, this difference is often blurred and ignored. As the result, the data and information become unprotected.

As an institution, we are taking the issue of disinformation and data privacy seriously. We began our work by integrating our principal regarding both issue into the work program. Two of them are the development of SID and community media. We are also trying to increase the awareness regarding these issues by organizing a series of discussion and publication. For example, when the Ministry of Informatics issued the regulation of obligatory Sim registration, we question the guarantee that protect the user’s personal information. As it turned out, the policy was revised and the issue of data privacy protection resurfaced while the law to protect the data privacy remained undiscussed by the parliament.